Controlling and Displaying Zones in a Multi-Zone System

ABSTRACT

A multimedia controller for controlling and displaying zones in a multi-zone system is provided. In one example the controller provides a user interface for multiple zones of a media playback system comprising multiple playback devices. The controller identifies respective states associated with each zone of the multiple zones and detects an input to display a list of the multiple zones. In response to detecting the input, the controller determines an order of the multiple zones within the list of the multiple zones and displays, via the user interface, the list of the multiple zones, wherein the list of the multiple zones identifies each zone of the multiple zones in the determined order.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to and is a continuation under 35U.S.C. § 120 to U.S. application Ser. No. 18/052,936, filed on Nov. 11,2022, entitled “Controlling and Displaying Zones in a Multi-ZoneSystem,” which claims priority to and is a continuation under 35 U.S.C.§ 120 to U.S. application Ser. No. 17/524,608, filed on Nov. 11, 2021,entitled “Controlling and Displaying Zones in a Multi-Zone System,” andissued as U.S. Pat. No. 11,494,063 on Nov. 8, 2022, which claimspriority to and is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.17/019,648, filed on Sep. 14, 2020, entitled “Controlling and DisplayingZones in a Multi-Zone System,” and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 11,175,805 onNov. 16, 2021. The content of these application is incorporated hereinby reference its entirety.

U.S. application Ser. No. 17/019,648 claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §120 to, and is a continuation of, U.S. application Ser. No. 15/664,518,filed on Jul. 31, 2017, entitled “Controlling and Displaying Zones in aMulti-Zone System,” and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,775,973 on Sep. 15,2020, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

U.S. application Ser. No. 15/664,518, filed on Jul. 31, 2017, claimspriority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 to, and is a continuation of, U.S.application Ser. No. 14/041,158, filed on Sep. 30, 2013, entitled“Controlling and Displaying Zones in a Multi-Zone System,” and issued asU.S. Pat. No. 9,720,576 on Aug. 1, 2017, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The disclosure is related to consumer goods and, more particularly, tomethods, systems, products, features, services, and other items directedto media playback or some aspect thereof.

BACKGROUND

Digital music has become readily available due in part to thedevelopment of consumer level technology that has allowed people tolisten to digital music on a personal audio device. The consumer'sincreasing preference for digital audio has also resulted in theintegration of personal audio devices into PDAs, cellular phones, andother mobile devices. The portability of these mobile devices hasenabled people to take the music listening experience with them andoutside of the home. People have become able to consume digital music,like digital music files or even Internet radio, in the home through theuse of their computer or similar devices. Now there are many differentways to consume digital music, in addition to other digital contentincluding digital video and photos, stimulated in many ways byhigh-speed Internet access at home, mobile broadband Internet access,and the consumer's hunger for digital media.

Until recently, options for accessing and listening to digital audio inan out-loud setting were severely limited. In 2005, Sonos offered forsale its first digital audio system that enabled people to, among manyother things, access virtually unlimited sources of audio via one ormore networked connected zone players, dynamically group or ungroup zoneplayers upon command, wirelessly send the audio over a local networkamongst zone players, and play the digital audio out loud acrossmultiple zone players in synchrony. The Sonos system can be controlledby software applications running on network capable mobile devices andcomputers.

Given the insatiable appetite of consumers towards digital media, therecontinues to be a need to develop consumer technology thatrevolutionizes the way people access and consume digital media.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features, aspects, and advantages of the presently disclosed technologymay be better understood with regard to the following description,appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:

FIG. 1 shows an example configuration m which certain embodiments may bepracticed;

FIG. 2A shows an illustration of an example zone player having abuilt-in amplifier and transducers;

FIG. 2B shows an illustration of an example zone player having abuilt-in amplifier and connected to external speakers;

FIG. 2C shows an illustration of an example zone player connected to anNV receiver and speakers;

FIG. 3 shows an illustration of an example controller;

FIG. 4 shows an internal functional block diagram of an example zoneplayer;

FIG. 5 shows an internal functional block diagram of an examplecontroller;

FIG. 6 shows an example playback queue configuration for a network mediasystem;

FIG. 7 shows an example ad-hoc playback network;

FIG. 8 shows a system including a plurality of networks including acloud-based network and at least one local playback network;

FIG. 9 shows an example screenshot of a user interface depicting a zone.

FIG. 10 shows an example screenshot of a user interface depicting a listof a plurality of zones.

FIG. 11 shows an example screenshot of a user interface depicting azone.

FIG. 12 depicts an example flow diagram for controlling and identifyingzones in a multi-zone system.

FIG. 13 shows an example screenshot of a user interface depicting a listof a plurality of zones.

In addition, the drawings are for the purpose of illustrating exampleembodiments, but it is understood that the inventions are not limited tothe arrangements and instrumentality shown in the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION I. Overview

Embodiments described herein involve a user interface for controllingzones in multi-zone systems.

In one case, a user interface is provided for a controlling a zone, thezone comprising one or more playback devices. The user interface allowsthe user to identify and control content that may be queued for playbackin the zone. The user may further control other zones in the system byselecting an area of the user interface, which causes the user interfaceto display a list of zones on the network. The list may be orderedaccording to a state associated with each zone. From the list, the usermay select another zone (or the same zone) in order to control thatzone.

In one aspect, the present application provides a multimedia controller.The controller is configured to provide a user interface for a pluralityof zones, wherein each zone of the plurality of zones includes at leastone player in a local area network. The controller may accept, via theuser interface, an input to display a list of the zones in the localarea network. The controller is further configured to determine, foreach zone of the plurality of zones, a state associated with each zoneof the plurality of zones, and to display, via the user interface, thelist of the zones, wherein the list of the zones identifies each zone ofthe plurality of zones, and wherein the list of zones is ordered atleast according to the state associated with each respective zone of theplurality of zones.

In another aspect, a method is provided. The method involves providing,by a computing device, a user interface for a plurality of zones,wherein each zone of the plurality of zones includes at least one playerin a local area network. The method further provides for accepting, bythe computing device via the user interface, an input to display a listof the zones in the local area network. In addition, the method providesfor determining, by the computing device for each zone of the pluralityof zones, a state associated with each zone of the plurality of zones.Also, the method provides for displaying, by the computing device viathe user interface, the list of the zones, wherein the list of the zonesidentifies each zone of the plurality of zones, and wherein the list ofzones is ordered at least according to the state associated with eachrespective zone of the plurality of zones.

In yet another aspect, a non-transitory computer readable memory isprovided. The non-transitory computer readable memory has stored thereoninstructions executable by a computing device to cause the computingdevice to perform functions. The functions include providing a userinterface for a plurality of zones, wherein each zone of the pluralityof zones includes at least one player in a local area network. Thefunction also includes accepting, via the user interface, an input todisplay a list of the zones in the local area network. In addition, thefunction includes determining, for each zone of the plurality of zones,a state associated with each zone of the plurality of zones. Also, thefunction includes displaying via the user interface, the list of thezones, wherein the list of the zones identifies each zone of theplurality of zones, and wherein the list of zones is ordered at leastaccording to the state associated with each respective zone of theplurality of zones.

Other embodiments, as those discussed in the following and others as canbe appreciated by one having ordinary skill in the art are alsopossible.

II. Example Operating Environment

Referring now to the drawings, in which like numerals can refer to likeparts throughout the figures, FIG. 1 shows an example media systemconfiguration 100 in which one or more embodiments disclosed herein canbe practiced or implemented.

By way of illustration, the media system configuration 100 is associatedwith a home having multiple zones, although it should be understood thatthe home could be configured with only one zone. Additionally, one ormore zones can be added to the configuration 100 over time. Each zonemay be assigned by a user to a different room or space, such as, forexample, an office, bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, dining room, familyroom, home theater room, utility or laundry room, and patio. A singlezone might also include multiple rooms or spaces if so configured. Withrespect to FIG. 1 , one or more of zone players 102-124 are shown ineach respective zone. Zone players 102-124, also referred to herein asplayback devices, multimedia units, speakers, players, and so on,provide audio, video, and/or audiovisual output. A controller 130 (e.g.,shown in the kitchen for purposes of this illustration) provides controlto the media system configuration 100. Controller 130 may be fixed to azone, or alternatively, mobile such that it can be moved about thezones. The media system configuration 100 may also include more than onecontroller 130, and additional controllers may be added to the systemover time.

The media system configuration 100 illustrates an example whole housemedia system, though it is understood that the technology describedherein is not limited to, among other things, its particular place ofapplication or to an expansive system like a whole house media system100 of FIG. 1 .

a. Example Zone Players

FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C show example types of zone players. Zone players200, 202, and 204 of FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C, respectively, can correspondto any of the zone players 102-124 of FIG. 1 , for example. In someembodiments, audio is reproduced using only a single zone player, suchas by a full-range player. In some embodiments, audio is reproducedusing two or more zone players, such as by using a combination offull-range players or a combination of full-range and specializedplayers. In some embodiments, zone players 200-204 may also be referredto as a “smart speaker,” because they contain processing capabilitiesbeyond the reproduction of audio, more of which is described below.

FIG. 2A illustrates a zone player 200 that includes sound producingequipment 208 capable of reproducing full-range sound. The sound maycome from an audio signal that is received and processed by zone player200 over a wired or wireless data network. Sound producing equipment 208includes one or more built-in amplifiers and one or more acoustictransducers (e.g., speakers). A built-in amplifier is described morebelow with respect to FIG. 4 . A speaker or acoustic transducer caninclude, for example, any of a tweeter, a mid-range driver, a low-rangedriver, and a subwoofer. In some embodiments, zone player 200 can bestatically or dynamically configured to play stereophonic audio,monaural audio, or both. In some embodiments, zone player 200 may bedynamically configured to reproduce a subset of full-range sound, suchas when zone player 200 is grouped with other zone players to playstereophonic audio, monaural audio, and/or surround audio or when themedia content received by zone player 200 is less than full-range.

FIG. 2B illustrates zone player 202 that includes a built-in amplifierto power a set of detached speakers 210. A detached speaker can include,for example, any type of loudspeaker. Zone player 202 may be configuredto power one, two, or more separate loudspeakers. Zone player 202 may beconfigured to communicate an audio signal (e.g., right and left channelaudio or more channels depending on its configuration) to the detachedspeakers 210 via a wired path.

FIG. 2C illustrates zone player 204 that does not include a built-inamplifier, but is configured to communicate an audio signal, receivedover a data network, to an audio (or “audio/video”) receiver 214 withbuilt-in amplification.

Referring back to FIG. 1 , in some embodiments, one, some, or all of thezone players 102 to 124 can retrieve audio directly from a source. Forexample, a particular zone player in a zone or zone group may beassigned to a playback queue (or “queue”). The playback queue containsinformation corresponding to zero or more audio items for playback bythe associated zone or zone group. The playback queue may be stored inmemory on a zone player or some other designated device. Each itemcontained in the playback queue may comprise a uniform resourceidentifier (URI) or some other identifier that can be used by the zoneplayer(s) to seek out and/or retrieve the audio items from theidentified audio source(s). Depending on the item, the audio sourcemight be found on the Internet (e.g., the cloud), locally from anotherdevice over the data network 128 (described further below), from thecontroller 130, stored on the zone player itself, or from an audiosource communicating directly to the zone player. In some embodiments,the zone player can reproduce the audio itself (e.g., play the audio),send the audio to another zone player for reproduction, or both wherethe audio is reproduced by the zone player as well as one or moreadditional zone players (possibly in synchrony). In some embodiments,the zone player may play a first audio content (or alternatively, maynot play the content at all), while sending a second, different audiocontent to another zone player(s) for reproduction. To the user, eachitem in a playback queue is represented on an interface of a controllerby an element such as a track name, album name, radio station name,playlist, or other some other representation. A user can populate theplayback queue with audio items of interest. The user may also modifyand clear the playback queue, if so desired.

By way of illustration, SONOS, Inc. of Santa Barbara, Calif. presentlyoffers for sale zone players referred to as a “PLAY:5,” “PLAY:3,”“PLAYBAR,” “CONNECT:AMP,” “CONNECT,” and “SUB.” Any other past, present,and/or future zone players can additionally or alternatively be used toimplement the zone players of example embodiments disclosed herein.Additionally, it is understood that a zone player is not limited to theparticular examples illustrated in FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C or to the SONOSproduct offerings. For example, a zone player may include a wired orwireless headphone. In yet another example, a zone player might includea sound bar for television. In yet another example, a zone player mayinclude or interact with a docking station for an Apple iPod™ or similardevice.

b. Example Controllers

FIG. 3 illustrates an example wireless controller 300 in docking station302. By way of illustration, controller 300 may correspond tocontrolling device 130 of FIG. 1 . Docking station 302, if provided orused, may provide power to the controller 300 and additionally maycharge a battery of controller 300. In some embodiments, controller 300may be provided with a touch screen 304 that allows a user to interactthrough touch with the controller 300, for example, to retrieve andnavigate a playlist of audio items, modify and/or clear the playbackqueue of one or more zone players, control other operations of one ormore zone players, and provide overall control of the systemconfiguration 100. In other embodiments, other input mechanisms such asvoice control may be used to interact with the controller 300. Incertain embodiments, any number of controllers can be used to controlthe system configuration 100. In some embodiments, there may be a limitset on the number of controllers that can control the systemconfiguration 100. The controllers might be wireless like wirelesscontroller 300 or wired to data network 128.

In some embodiments, if more than one controller is used in system 100of FIG. 1 , each controller may be coordinated to display commoncontent, and may all be dynamically updated to indicate changes made tothe system 100 from a single controller. Coordination can occur, forinstance, by a controller periodically requesting a state variabledirectly or indirectly from one or more of the zone players; the statevariable may provide information about system 100, such as current zonegroup configuration, what is playing in one or more zones, volumelevels, and other items of interest. The state variable may be passedaround on data network 128 between zone players (and controllers, if sodesired) as needed or as often as programmed.

In addition, an application running on any network-enabled portabledevice, such as an iPhone™, iPad™, Android™ powered phone or tablet, orany other smart phone or network-enabled device can be used ascontroller 130. An application running on a laptop or desktop personalcomputer (PC) or Mac™ can also be used as controller 130. Suchcontrollers may connect to system 100 through an interface with datanetwork 128, a zone player, a wireless router, or using some otherconfigured connection path. Example controllers offered by Sonos, Inc.of Santa Barbara, Calif. include a “Controller 200,” “SONOS® CONTROL,”“SONOS® Controller for iPhone™,” “SONOS® Controller for iPad™,” “SONOS®Controller for Android™,” “SONOS® Controller for Mac™ or PC.”

c. Example Data Connection

Zone players 102-124 of FIG. 1 are coupled directly or indirectly to adata network, such as data network 128. Controller 130 may also becoupled directly or indirectly to data network 128 or individual zoneplayers. Data network 128 is represented by an octagon in the figure tostand out from other representative components. While data network 128is shown in a single location, it is understood that such a network isdistributed in and around system 100. Particularly, data network 128 canbe a wired network, a wireless network, or a combination of both wiredand wireless networks. In some embodiments, one or more of the zoneplayers 102-124 are wirelessly coupled to data network 128 based on aproprietary mesh network. In some embodiments, one or more of the zoneplayers are coupled to data network 128 using a centralized access pointsuch as a wired or wireless router. In some embodiments, one or more ofthe zone players 102-124 are coupled via a wire to data network 128using Ethernet or similar technology. In addition to the one or morezone players 102-124 connecting to data network 128, data network 128can further allow access to a wide area network, such as the Internet.

In some embodiments, connecting any of the zone players 102-124, or someother connecting device, to a broadband router, can create data network128. Other zone players 102-124 can then be added wired or wirelessly tothe data network 128. For example, a zone player (e.g., any of zoneplayers 102-124) can be added to the system configuration 100 by simplypressing a button on the zone player itself (or perform some otheraction), which enables a connection to be made to data network 128. Thebroadband router can be connected to an Internet Service Provider (ISP),for example. The broadband router can be used to form another datanetwork within the system configuration 100, which can be used in otherapplications (e.g., web surfing). Data network 128 can also be used inother applications, if so programmed. An example, second network mayimplement SONOSNET™ protocol, developed by SONOS, Inc. of Santa Barbara.SONOSNET™ represents a secure, AES-encrypted, peer-to-peer wireless meshnetwork. Alternatively, in certain embodiments, the data network 128 isthe same network, such as a traditional wired or wireless network, usedfor other applications in the household.

d. Example Zone Configurations

A particular zone can contain one or more zone players. For example, thefamily room of FIG. 1 contains two zone players 106 and 108, while thekitchen is shown with one zone player 102. In another example, the hometheater room contains additional zone players to play audio from a 5.1channel or greater audio source (e.g., a movie encoded with 5.1 orgreater audio channels). In some embodiments, one can position a zoneplayer in a room or space and assign the zone player to a new orexisting zone via controller 130. As such, zones may be created,combined with another zone, removed, and given a specific name (e.g.,“Kitchen”), if so desired and programmed to do so with controller 130.Moreover, in some embodiments, zone configurations may be dynamicallychanged even after being configured using controller 130 or some othermechanism.

In some embodiments, a “bonded zone” contains two or more zone players,such as the two zone players 106 and 108 in the family room, whereby thetwo zone players 106 and 108 can be configured to play the same audiosource in synchrony. In one example, the two zone players 106 and 108can be paired to play two separate sounds in left and right channels,for example. In other words, the stereo effects of a sound can bereproduced or enhanced through the two zone players 106 and 108, one forthe left sound and the other for the right sound. In another example twoor more zone players can be sonically consolidated to form a single,consolidated zone player. A consolidated zone player (though made up ofmultiple, separate devices) can be configured to process and reproducesound differently than an unconsolidated zone player or zone playersthat are paired, because a consolidated zone player has additionalspeaker drivers from which sound can be passed. The consolidated zoneplayer can further be paired with a single zone player or yet anotherconsolidated zone player. Each playback device of a consolidatedplayback device can be set in a consolidated mode, for example.

In certain embodiments, paired or consolidated zone players (alsoreferred to as “bonded zone players”) can play audio in synchrony withother zone players in the same or different zones.

According to some embodiments, one can continue to do any of: group,consolidate, and pair zone players, for example, until a desiredconfiguration is complete. The actions of grouping, consolidation, andpairing are preferably performed through a control interface, such asusing controller 130, and not by physically connecting and re-connectingspeaker wire, for example, to individual, discrete speakers to createdifferent configurations. As such, certain embodiments described hereinprovide a more flexible and dynamic platform through which soundreproduction can be offered to the end-user.

e. Example Audio Sources

In some embodiments, each zone can play from the same audio source asanother zone or each zone can play from a different audio source. Forexample, someone can be grilling on the patio and listening to jazzmusic via zone player 124, while someone is preparing food in thekitchen and listening to classical music via zone player 102. Further,someone can be in the office listening to the same jazz music via zoneplayer 110 that is playing on the patio via zone player 124. In someembodiments, the jazz music played via zone players 110 and 124 isplayed in synchrony. Synchronizing playback amongst zones allows for anindividual to pass through zones while seamlessly (or substantiallyseamlessly) listening to the audio. Further, zones can be put into a“party mode” such that all associated zones will play audio insynchrony.

Sources of audio content to be played by zone players 102-124 arenumerous. In some embodiments, audio on a zone player itself may beaccessed and played. In some embodiments, audio on a controller may beaccessed via the data network 128 and played. In some embodiments, musicfrom a personal library stored on a computer or networked-attachedstorage (NAS) may be accessed via the data network 128 and played. Insome embodiments, Internet radio stations, shows, and podcasts may beaccessed via the data network 128 and played. Music or cloud servicesthat let a user stream and/or download music and audio content may beaccessed via the data network 128 and played. Further, music may beobtained from traditional sources, such as a turntable or CD player, viaa line-in connection to a zone player, for example. Audio content mayalso be accessed using a different protocol, such as Airplay™, which isa wireless technology by Apple, Inc., for example. Audio contentreceived from one or more sources can be shared amongst the zone players102 to 124 via data network 128 and/or controller 130. Theabove-disclosed sources of audio content are referred to herein asnetwork-based audio information sources. However, network-based audioinformation sources are not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the example home theater zone players 116, 118, 120are coupled to an audio information source such as a television 132. Insome examples, the television 132 is used as a source of audio for thehome theater zone players 116, 118, 120, while in other examples audioinformation from the television 132 may be shared with any of the zoneplayers 102-124 in the audio system 100.

III. Example Zone Players

Referring now to FIG. 4 , there is shown an example block diagram of azone player 400 in accordance with an embodiment. Zone player 400includes a network interface 402, a processor 408, a memory 410, anaudio processing component 412, one or more modules 414, an audioamplifier 416, and a speaker unit 418 coupled to the audio amplifier416. FIG. 2A shows an example illustration of such a zone player. Othertypes of zone players may not include the speaker unit 418 (e.g., suchas shown in FIG. 2B) or the audio amplifier 416 (e.g., such as shown inFIG. 2C). Further, it is contemplated that the zone player 400 can beintegrated into another component. For example, the zone player 400could be constructed as part of a television, lighting, or some otherdevice for indoor or outdoor use.

In some embodiments, network interface 402 facilitates a data flowbetween zone player 400 and other devices on a data network 128. In someembodiments, in addition to getting audio from another zone player ordevice on data network 128, zone player 400 may access audio directlyfrom the audio source, such as over a wide area network or on the localnetwork. In some embodiments, the network interface 402 can furtherhandle the address part of each packet so that it gets to the rightdestination or intercepts packets destined for the zone player 400.Accordingly, in certain embodiments, each of the packets includes anInternet Protocol (IP)-based source address as well as an IP-baseddestination address.

In some embodiments, network interface 402 can include one or both of awireless interface 404 and a wired interface 406. The wireless interface404, also referred to as a radio frequency (RF) interface, providesnetwork interface functions for the zone player 400 to wirelesslycommunicate with other devices (e.g., other zone player(s), speaker(s),receiver(s), component(s) associated with the data network 128, and soon) in accordance with a communication protocol (e.g., any wirelessstandard including IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac,802.15, 4G mobile communication standard, and so on). Wireless interface404 may include one or more radios. To receive wireless signals and toprovide the wireless signals to the wireless interface 404 and totransmit wireless signals, the zone player 400 includes one or moreantennas 420. The wired interface 406 provides network interfacefunctions for the zone player 400 to communicate over a wire with otherdevices in accordance with a communication protocol (e.g., IEEE 802.3).In some embodiments, a zone player includes multiple wireless 404interfaces. In some embodiments, a zone player includes multiple wired406 interfaces. In some embodiments, a zone player includes both of theinterfaces 404 and 406. In some embodiments, a zone player 400 includesonly the wireless interface 404 or the wired interface 406.

In some embodiments, the processor 408 is a clock-driven electronicdevice that is configured to process input data according toinstructions stored in memory 410. The memory 410 is data storage thatcan be loaded with one or more software module(s) 414, which can beexecuted by the processor 408 to achieve certain tasks. In theillustrated embodiment, the memory 410 is a tangible machine-readablemedium storing instructions that can be executed by the processor 408.In some embodiments, a task might be for the zone player 400 to retrieveaudio data from another zone player or a device on a network (e.g.,using a uniform resource locator (URL) or some other identifier). Insome embodiments, a task may be for the zone player 400 to send audiodata to another zone player or device on a network. In some embodiments,a task may be for the zone player 400 to synchronize playback of audiowith one or more additional zone players. In some embodiments, a taskmay be to pair the zone player 400 with one or more zone players tocreate a multi-channel audio environment. Additional or alternativetasks can be achieved via the one or more software module(s) 414 and theprocessor 408.

The audio processing component 412 can include one or moredigital-to-analog converters (DAC), an audio preprocessing component, anaudio enhancement component or a digital signal processor, and so on. Insome embodiments, the audio processing component 412 may be part ofprocessor 408. In some embodiments, the audio that is retrieved via thenetwork interface 402 is processed and/or intentionally altered by theaudio processing component 412. Further, the audio processing component412 can produce analog audio signals. The processed analog audio signalsare then provided to the audio amplifier 416 for playback throughspeakers 418. In addition, the audio processing component 412 caninclude circuitry to process analog or digital signals as inputs to playfrom zone player 400, send to another zone player on a network, or bothplay and send to another zone player on the network. An example inputincludes a line-in connection (e.g., an auto-detecting 3.5 mm audioline-in connection).

The audio amplifier 416 is a device(s) that amplifies audio signals to alevel for driving one or more speakers 418. The one or more speakers 418can include an individual transducer (e.g., a “driver”) or a completespeaker system that includes an enclosure including one or more drivers.A particular driver can be a subwoofer (e.g., for low frequencies), amid-range driver (e.g., for middle frequencies), and a tweeter (e.g.,for high frequencies), for example. An enclosure can be sealed orported, for example. Each transducer may be driven by its own individualamplifier.

A commercial example, presently known as the PLAY:5™, is a zone playerwith a built-in amplifier and speakers that is capable of retrievingaudio directly from the source, such as on the Internet or on the localnetwork, for example. In particular, the PLAY:5™ is a five-amp,five-driver speaker system that includes two tweeters, two mid-rangedrivers, and one woofer. When playing audio content via the PLAY:5, theleft audio data of a track is sent out of the left tweeter and leftmid-range driver, the right audio data of a track is sent out of theright tweeter and the right mid-range driver, and mono bass is sent outof the subwoofer. Further, both mid-range drivers and both tweeters havethe same equalization (or substantially the same equalization). That is,they are both sent the same frequencies but from different channels ofaudio. Audio from Internet radio stations, online music and videoservices, downloaded music, analog audio inputs, television, DVD, and soon, can be played from the PLAY:5™.

IV. Example Controller

Referring now to FIG. 5 , there is shown an example block diagram forcontroller 500, which can correspond to the controlling device 130 inFIG. 1 . Controller 500 can be used to facilitate the control ofmulti-media applications, automation and others in a system. Inparticular, the controller 500 may be configured to facilitate aselection of a plurality of audio sources available on the network andenable control of one or more zone players (e.g., the zone players102-124 in FIG. 1 ) through a wireless or wired network interface 508.According to one embodiment, the wireless communications is based on anindustry standard (e.g., infrared, radio, wireless standards includingIEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.15, 4G mobilecommunication standard, and so on). Further, when a particular audio isbeing accessed via the controller 500 or being played via a zone player,a picture (e.g., album art) or any other data, associated with the audioand/or audio source can be transmitted from a zone player or otherelectronic device to controller 500 for display.

Controller 500 is provided with a screen 502 and an input interface 514that allows a user to interact with the controller 500, for example, tonavigate a playlist of many multimedia items and to control operationsof one or more zone players. The screen 502 on the controller 500 can bean LCD screen, for example. The screen 500 communicates with and iscommanded by a screen driver 504 that is controlled by a microcontroller(e.g., a processor) 506. The memory 510 can be loaded with one or moreapplication modules 512 that can be executed by the microcontroller 506with or without a user input via the user interface 514 to achievecertain tasks. In some embodiments, an application module 512 isconfigured to facilitate grouping a number of selected zone players intoa zone group to facilitate synchronized playback amongst the zoneplayers in the zone group. In some embodiments, an application module512 is configured to control the audio sounds (e.g., volume) of the zoneplayers in a zone group. In operation, when the microcontroller 506executes one or more of the application modules 512, the screen driver504 generates control signals to drive the screen 502 to display anapplication specific user interface accordingly.

The controller 500 includes a network interface 508 that facilitateswired or wireless communication with a zone player. In some embodiments,the commands such as volume control and audio playback synchronizationare sent via the network interface 508. In some embodiments, a savedzone group configuration is transmitted between a zone player and acontroller via the network interface 508. The controller 500 can controlone or more zone players, such as 102-124 of FIG. 1 . There can be morethan one controller for a particular system, and each controller mayshare common information with another controller, or retrieve the commoninformation from a zone player, if such a zone player storesconfiguration data (e.g., such as a state variable). Further, acontroller can be integrated into a zone player.

It should be noted that other network-enabled devices such as aniPhone™, iPad™ or any other smart phone or network-enabled device (e.g.,a networked computer such as a PC or Mac™) can also be used as acontroller to interact or control zone players in a particularenvironment. In some embodiments, a software application or upgrade canbe downloaded onto a network-enabled device to perform the functionsdescribed herein.

In certain embodiments, a user can create a zone group (also referred toas a bonded zone) including at least two zone players from thecontroller 500. The zone players in the zone group can play audio in asynchronized fashion, such that all of the zone players in the zonegroup playback an identical audio source or a list of identical audiosources in a synchronized manner such that no (or substantially no)audible delays or hiccups are to be heard. Similarly, in someembodiments, when a user increases the audio volume of the group fromthe controller 500, the signals or data of increasing the audio volumefor the group are sent to one of the zone players and causes other zoneplayers in the group to be increased together in volume.

A user via the controller 500 can group zone players into a zone groupby activating a “Link Zones” or “Add Zone” soft button, or de-grouping azone group by activating an “Unlink Zones” or “Drop Zone” button. Forexample, one mechanism for ‘joining’ zone players together for audioplayback is to link a number of zone players together to form a group.To link a number of zone players together, a user can manually link eachzone player or room one after the other. For example, assume that thereis a multi-zone system that includes the following zones: Bathroom,Bedroom, Den, Dining Room, Family Room, and Foyer. In certainembodiments, a user can link any number of the six zone players, forexample, by starting with a single zone and then manually linking eachzone to that zone.

In certain embodiments, a set of zones can be dynamically linkedtogether using a command to create a zone scene or theme (subsequent tofirst creating the zone scene). For instance, a “Morning” zone scenecommand can link the Bedroom, Office, and Kitchen zones together in oneaction. Without this single command, the user would manually andindividually link each zone. The single command may include a mouseclick, a double mouse click, a button press, a gesture, or some otherprogrammed or learned action. Other kinds of zone scenes can beprogrammed or learned by the system over time.

In certain embodiments, a zone scene can be triggered based on time(e.g., an alarm clock function). For instance, a zone scene can be setto apply at 8:00 am. The system can link appropriate zonesautomatically, set specific music to play, and then stop the music aftera defined duration and revert the zones to their prior configuration.Although any particular zone can be triggered to an “On” or “Off” statebased on time, for example, a zone scene enables any zone(s) linked tothe scene to play a predefined audio (e.g., a favorable song, apredefined playlist) at a specific time and/or for a specific duration.If, for any reason, the scheduled music failed to be played (e.g., anempty playlist, no connection to a share, failed Universal Plug and Play(UPnP), no Internet connection for an Internet Radio station, and soon), a backup buzzer can be programmed to sound. The buzzer can includea sound file that is stored in a zone player, for example.

V. Playback Queue

As discussed above, in some embodiments, a zone player may be assignedto a playback queue identifying zero or more media items for playback bythe zone player. The media items identified in a playback queue may berepresented to the user via an interface on a controller. For instance,the representation may show the user (or users if more than onecontroller is connected to the system) how the zone player is traversingthe playback queue, such as by highlighting the “now playing” item,graying out the previously played item(s), highlighting the to-be-playeditem(s), and so on.

In some embodiments, a single zone player is assigned to a playbackqueue. For example, zone player 114 in the bathroom of FIG. 1 may belinked or assigned to a “Bathroom” playback queue. In an embodiment, the“Bathroom” playback queue might have been established by the system as aresult of the user naming the zone player 114 to the bathroom. As such,contents populated and identified in the “Bathroom” playback queue canbe played via the zone player 114 (the bathroom zone).

In some embodiments, a zone or zone group is assigned to a playbackqueue. For example, zone players 106 and 108 in the family room of FIG.1 may be linked or assigned to a “Family room” playback queue. Inanother example, if family room and dining room zones were grouped, thenthe new group would be linked or assigned to a family room+dining roomplayback queue. In some embodiments, the family room+dining roomplayback queue would be established based upon the creation of thegroup. In some embodiments, upon establishment of the new group, thefamily room+dining room playback queue can automatically include thecontents of one (or both) of the playback queues associated with eitherthe family room or dining room or both. In one instance, if the userstarted with the family room and added the dining room, then thecontents of the family room playback queue would become the contents ofthe family room+dining room playback queue. In another instance, if theuser started with the family room and added the dining room, then thefamily room playback queue would be renamed to the family room+diningroom playback queue. If the new group was “ungrouped,” then the familyroom+dining room playback queue may be removed from the system and/orrenamed to one of the zones (e.g., renamed to “family room” or “diningroom”). After ungrouping, each of the family room and the dining roomwill be assigned to a separate playback queue. One or more of the zoneplayers in the zone or zone group may store in memory the associatedplayback queue.

As such, when zones or zone groups are “grouped” or “ungrouped”dynamically by the user via a controller, the system will, in someembodiments, establish or remove/rename playback queues respectively, aseach zone or zone group is to be assigned to a playback queue. In otherwords, the playback queue operates as a container that can be populatedwith media items for playback by the assigned zone. In some embodiments,the media items identified in a playback queue can be manipulated (e.g.,re-arranged, added to, deleted from, and so on).

By way of illustration, FIG. 6 shows an example network 600 for mediacontent playback. As shown, the example network 600 includes examplezone players 612 and 614, example audio sources 662 and 664, and examplemedia items 620. The example media items 620 may include playlist 622,music track 624, favorite Internet radio station 626, playlists 628 and630, and album 632. In one embodiment, the zone players 612 and 614 maybe any of the zone players shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 4 . For instance,zone players 612 and 614 may be the zone players 106 and 108 in theFamily Room.

In one example, the example audio sources 662 and 664, and example mediaitems 620 may be partially stored on a cloud network, discussed morebelow in connection to FIG. 8 . In some cases, the portions of the audiosources 662, 664, and example media items 620 may be stored locally onone or both of the zone players 612 and 614. In one embodiment, playlist622, favorite Internet radio station 626, and playlist 630 may be storedlocally, and music track 624, playlist 628, and album 632 may be storedon the cloud network.

Each of the example media items 620 may be a list of media itemsplayable by a zone player(s). In one embodiment, the example media itemsmay be a collection of links or pointers (i.e., URI) to the underlyingdata for media items that are stored elsewhere, such as the audiosources 662 and 664. In another embodiment, the media items may includepointers to media content stored on the local zone player, another zoneplayer over a local network, or a controller device connected to thelocal network.

As shown, the example network 600 may also include an example queue 602associated with the zone player 612, and an example queue 604 associatedwith the zone player 614. Queue 606 may be associated with a group, whenin existence, comprising zone players 612 and 614. Queue 606 mightcomprise a new queue or exist as a renamed version of queue 602 or 604.In some embodiments, in a group, the zone players 612 and 614 would beassigned to queue 606 and queue 602 and 604 would not be available atthat time. In some embodiments, when the group is no longer inexistence, queue 606 is no longer available. Each zone player and eachcombination of zone players in a network of zone players, such as thoseshown in FIG. 1 or that of example zone players 612, 614, and examplecombination 616, may be uniquely assigned to a corresponding playbackqueue.

A playback queue, such as playback queues 602-606, may includeidentification of media content to be played by the corresponding zoneplayer or combination of zone players. As such, media items added to theplayback queue are to be played by the corresponding zone player orcombination of zone players. The zone player may be configured to playitems in the queue according to a specific order (such as an order inwhich the items were added), in a random order, or in some other order.

The playback queue may include a combination of playlists and othermedia items added to the queue. In one embodiment, the items in playbackqueue 602 to be played by the zone player 612 may include items from theaudio sources 662, 664, or any of the media items 622-632. The playbackqueue 602 may also include items stored locally on the zone player 612,or items accessible from the zone player 614. For instance, the playbackqueue 602 may include Internet radio 626 and album 632 items from audiosource 662, and items stored on the zone player 612.

When a media item is added to the queue via an interface of acontroller, a link to the item may be added to the queue. In a case ofadding a playlist to the queue, links to the media items in the playlistmay be provided to the queue. For example, the playback queue 602 mayinclude pointers from the Internet radio 626 and album 632, pointers toitems on the audio source 662, and pointers to items on the zone player612. In another case, a link to the playlist, for example, rather than alink to the media items in the playlist may be provided to the queue,and the zone player or combination of zone players may play the mediaitems in the playlist by accessing the media items via the playlist. Forexample, the album 632 may include pointers to items stored on audiosource 662. Rather than adding links to the items on audio source 662, alink to the album 632 may be added to the playback queue 602, such thatthe zone player 612 may play the items on the audio source 662 byaccessing the items via pointers in the album 632.

In some cases, contents as they exist at a point in time within aplayback queue may be stored as a playlist, and subsequently added tothe same queue later or added to another queue. For example, contents ofthe playback queue 602, at a particular point in time, may be saved as aplaylist, stored locally on the zone player 612 and/or on the cloudnetwork. The saved playlist may then be added to playback queue 604 tobe played by zone player 614.

VI. Example Ad-Hoc Network

Particular examples are now provided in connection with FIG. 7 todescribe, for purposes of illustration, certain embodiments to provideand facilitate connection to a playback network. FIG. 7 shows that thereare three zone players 702, 704 and 706 and a controller 708 that form anetwork branch that is also referred to as an Ad-Hoc network 710. Thenetwork 710 may be wireless, wired, or a combination of wired andwireless technologies. In general, an Ad-Hoc (or “spontaneous”) networkis a local area network or other small network in which there isgenerally no one access point for all traffic. With an establishedAd-Hoc network 710, the devices 702, 704, 706 and 708 can allcommunicate with each other in a “peer-to-peer” style of communication,for example. Furthermore, devices may join and/or leave from the network710, and the network 710 will automatically reconfigure itself withoutneeding the user to reconfigure the network 710. While an Ad-Hoc networkis referenced in FIG. 7 , it is understood that a playback network maybe based on a type of network that is completely or partially differentfrom an Ad-Hoc network.

Using the Ad-Hoc network 710, the devices 702, 704, 706, and 708 canshare or exchange one or more audio sources and be dynamically grouped(or ungrouped) to play the same or different audio sources. For example,the devices 702 and 704 are grouped to playback one piece of music, andat the same time, the device 706 plays back another piece of music. Inother words, the devices 702, 704, 706 and 708, as shown in FIG. 7 ,form a HOUSEHOLD that distributes audio and/or reproduces sound. As usedherein, the term HOUSEHOLD (provided in uppercase letters todisambiguate from the user's domicile) is used to represent a collectionof networked devices that are cooperating to provide an application orservice. An instance of a HOUSEHOLD is identified with a household 710(or household identifier), though a HOUSEHOLD may be identified with adifferent area or place.

In certain embodiments, a household identifier (HHID) is a short stringor an identifier that is computer-generated to help ensure that it isunique. Accordingly, the network 710 can be characterized by a uniqueHHID and a unique set of configuration variables or parameters, such aschannels (e.g., respective frequency bands), service set identifier(SSID) (a sequence of alphanumeric characters as a name of a wirelessnetwork), and WEP keys (wired equivalent privacy) or other securitykeys. In certain embodiments, SSID is set to be the same as HHID.

In certain embodiments, each HOUSEHOLD includes two types of networknodes: a control point (CP) and a zone player (ZP). The control pointcontrols an overall network setup process and sequencing, including anautomatic generation of required network parameters (e.g., securitykeys). In an embodiment, the CP also provides the user with a HOUSEHOLDconfiguration user interface. The CP function can be provided by acomputer running a CP application module, or by a handheld controller(e.g., the controller 308) also running a CP application module, forexample. The zone player is any other device on the network that isplaced to participate in the automatic configuration process. The ZP, asa notation used herein, includes the controller 308 or a computingdevice, for example. In some embodiments, the functionality, or certainparts of the functionality, in both the CP and the ZP are combined at asingle node (e.g., a ZP contains a CP or vice-versa).

In certain embodiments, configuration of a HOUSEHOLD involves multipleCPs and ZPs that rendezvous and establish a known configuration suchthat they can use a standard networking protocol (e.g., IP over Wired orWireless Ethernet) for communication. In an embodiment, two types ofnetworks/protocols are employed: Ethernet 802.3 and Wireless 802.11g.Interconnections between a CP and a ZP can use either of thenetworks/protocols. A device in the system as a member of a HOUSEHOLDcan connect to both networks simultaneously.

In an environment that has both networks in use, it is assumed that atleast one device in a system is connected to both as a bridging device,thus providing bridging services between wired/wireless networks forothers. The zone player 706 in FIG. 7 is shown to be connected to bothnetworks, for example. The connectivity to the network 712 is based onEthernet and/or Wireless, while the connectivity to other devices 702,704 and 708 is based on Wireless and Ethernet if so desired.

It is understood, however, that in some embodiments each zone player706, 704, 702 may access the Internet when retrieving media from thecloud (e.g., the Internet) via the bridging device. For example, zoneplayer 702 may contain a uniform resource locator (URL) that specifiesan address to a particular audio track in the cloud. Using the URL, thezone player 702 may retrieve the audio track from the cloud, andultimately play the audio out of one or more zone players.

VII. Another Example System Configuration

FIG. 8 shows a system 800 including a plurality of interconnectednetworks including a cloud-based network and at least one local playbacknetwork. A local playback network includes a plurality of playbackdevices or players, though it is understood that the playback networkmay contain only one playback device. In certain embodiments, eachplayer has an ability to retrieve its content for playback. Control andcontent retrieval can be distributed or centralized, for example. Inputcan include streaming content provider input, third party applicationinput, mobile device input, user input, and/or other playback networkinput into the cloud for local distribution and playback.

As illustrated by the example system 800 of FIG. 8 , a plurality ofcontent providers 820-850 can be connected to one or more local playbacknetworks 860-870 via a cloud and/or other network 810. Using the cloud810, a multimedia audio system server 820 (e.g., Sonos™), a mobiledevice 830, a third party application 840, a content provider 850 and soon can provide multimedia content (requested or otherwise) to localplayback networks 860, 870. Within each local playback network 860, 870,a controller 862, 872 and a playback device 864, 874 can be used toplayback audio content.

VIII. Example User Interface for Controlling and Displaying ZonesMulti-Zone System

As discussed above, embodiments described herein may provide a userinterface for controlling and displaying zones in a multi-zone system.FIGS. 9-11 depict examples of portions of such a user interface. Inparticular, FIG. 9 depicts a user interface screen 900 that allows auser to control a zone in a multi-zone system. As shown in FIG. 9 , theuser interface is currently displaying information allowing a user tocontrol the “Bedroom” zone. The “Bedroom” zone name is identified asitem 910. Items 920-950 depict information about a multimedia itemcurrently queued for playback in the “Bedroom” zone, includingalbum/track art 920, track information 930, artist information 940, andalbum information 950. As shown, the multimedia item queued for playbackis the song “Heaven for the Sinners” by Bonobo, from the album The NorthBorders. As shown, the album/track art 920 for this song is a note icon,but it should be understood that the actual album/track artwork could bedisplayed as well. In addition, other multimedia could be used toidentify the multimedia item currently queued for playback (a musicvideo, trivia about the multimedia item, the artist's discography,etc.). Item 960 depicts playback control information that may beselected by a user. The playback control information allows the user to,for example, play/pause the multimedia item (as shown, the multimediaitem in the queue is not currently being played), to advance to the nextmultimedia item in the queue, or go back to the previous multimedia itemin the queue. Also shown in the FIG. 9 (but not enumerated) are controlsfor adjusting volume, searching for multimedia items, selectingdifferent sources for multimedia sources, and for displaying the queueof multimedia items for the “Bedroom” zone.

FIG. 10 depicts a user interface screen 1000 that lists the zones in amulti-zone system, and allows a user to select a zone to control. Thisscreen can be invoked from the user interface in FIG. 9 by selecting aparticular area of the user interface. For example, a user may selectthe zone name 910 portion of the user interface to invoke the screenshown in FIG. 10 . As shown in FIG. 10 , the screen 1000 lists threezones: a “Bedroom” zone 1010, a “Living Room+Patio” zone 1020, and a “TVRoom” zone 1030. The “Living Room+Patio” zone 1020 is a zone group thatincludes the “Living Room” and “Patio” zones (e.g., the “Living Room”and “Patio” zones have been configured to synchronously playbackmultimedia content). The “Bedroom” zone 1010 is currently not playingaudio and has the multimedia item “Heaven for the Sinner” by Bonoboqueued as the next item to play in the playback queue. The “LivingRoom+Patio” zone has the multimedia item “Wanna be Startin' Somethin” byMichael Jackson queued in the playback queue. In addition, playback icon1040 indicates that the song is currently being played by the zone. Asfurther shown in FIG. 10 , the “TV Room” zone 1030 does not currentlyhave any multimedia items queued for playback.

The “Group” buttons next to each zone allows a user to group or ungroupthe selected zone to another zone to enable synchronous playback. Thegrouped zones may engage in synchronous playback using multiple methods,including, for example those described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,234,395,entitled “System and Method for Synchronizing Operations Among aPlurality of Independently Clocked Digital Data Processing Devices” andassigned to SONOS, Inc., which is incorporated by reference herein.Additional examples of grouping and ungrouping zones are described inU.S. Pat. No. 7,571,014, entitled “Method and Apparatus for ControllingMultimedia Players in a Multi-Zone System,” and U.S. Pat. No. 8,290,603,entitled “User Interfaces for Controlling and Manipulating Groupings ina Multi-Zone Media System,” both assigned to SONOS, Inc., and which areboth incorporated by reference herein.

If a user wants to control one of the zones 1010-1030, the user mayselect that zone. Selecting the zone may cause the controller to changethe user interface to display a screen such as FIG. 9 (described above)or FIG. 11 . FIG. 11 is similar to FIG. 9 except that it depicts themultimedia item being queued for playback in the “Living Room+Patio”zone. As shown in FIG. 11 , the user-interface displays the zone name1110 as “Living Room+Patio.” The item currently queued for playback, asshown in items 1120-1150 is Michael Jackson's “Wanna be Startin'Somethin” off of his “Number Ones” album. As shown in the controlinformation 1160, the song is currently being played by the “LivingRoom+Patio” zone. If the user wishes to return to the screen 1000 thatlists the zones in the multi-zone system, the user may submit an inputon the zone name 1110.

FIG. 12 shows an example flow diagram of a method 1200 for displaying anordered list of zones in a multi-zone system, such as the list depictedin FIG. 10 . Method 1200 may include one or more operations, functions,or actions as illustrated by one or more of blocks 1210-1240. Althoughthe blocks are illustrated in sequential order, these blocks may also beperformed in parallel, and/or in a different order than those describedherein. Also, the various blocks may be combined into fewer blocks,divided into additional sub-blocks, and/or removed based upon thedesired implementation.

In addition, for the method 1200 and other processes and methodsdisclosed herein, the flowchart shows functionality and operation of onepossible implementation of present embodiments. In this regard, eachblock may represent a module, a segment, or a portion of program code,which includes one or more instructions executable by a processor forimplementing specific logical functions or steps in the process. Theprogram code may be stored on any type of computer readable medium, forexample, such as a storage device including a disk or hard drive. Thecomputer readable medium may include non-transitory computer readablemedium, for example, such as computer-readable media that stores datafor short periods of time like register memory, processor cache andRandom Access Memory (RAM). The computer readable medium may alsoinclude non-transitory media, such as secondary or persistent long termstorage, like read only memory (ROM), optical or magnetic disks,compact-disc read only memory (CD-ROM), for example. The computerreadable media may also be any other volatile or non-volatile storagesystems. The computer readable medium may be considered a computerreadable storage medium, for example, or a tangible storage device. Inaddition, for the method 1200 and other processes and methods disclosedherein, each block in FIG. 12 may represent circuitry that is wired toperform the specific logical functions in the process.

As shown in FIG. 12 , at block 1210, a user interface for a plurality ofinterfaces is provided. A controller, such as the one described abovewith respect to FIG. 5 , may provide the user interface. As alsodescribed above, the controller may be a network-enabled device such asan iPhone™, iPad™, an Android™ device, or any other smart phone ornetwork-enabled device (e.g., a networked computer such as a PC or Mac™)can serve as such a controller. The user interface may include multiplescreens for controlling different aspects of the multi-zone system. Forexample, the user interface may include screens to control individualzones, such as the screens depicted in FIGS. 9 and 11 . As anotherexample, the user interface may include screens identifying the zones inthe system, such as the screens shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 13 (describedbelow). Other screens may be provided in the user interface as well. Forexample, the user interface may include screens for searching for music,selecting music, queue control, system preferences, adding/removingzones, and so on.

At block 1220, the method 1200 may involve receiving, via the userinterface, an input to display a list of zones in the multi-zone system.As described above, the input may be a user input selecting an area onone or more screens of the user interface. As an example, the user inputcould be a selection of the zone name 910 in FIG. 9 or the zone name1110 in FIG. 1100 . Other user inputs in other locations could be usedas well. For example, the user interface could include a “list of zones”button, and an input on that button could indicate that that the list ofzones should be displayed.

At block 1230, the method 1200 may involve the controller identifyingone or more states associated with each zone in the multi-zone system.There are several states that may be associated with the zones that thecontroller could identify. For example, the controller may identifywhether the respective zone has any multimedia items in its queue. Asanother example, the controller may identify whether the respective zoneis currently playing a multimedia item. In addition, the controller mayidentify how often respective the zone is used to play music. As yetanother example, the controller may identify a time when the respectivezone last played back multimedia content. Other states are possible aswell.

In yet another embodiment, the method 1200 may involve the controlleridentifying information pertaining to the controller. This informationmay be identified in addition to identifying one or more statesassociated with each zone in the multi-zone system. For example, thecontroller may identify whether and when it was last used to access aparticular zone. Other examples exist as well.

The controller may identify these states by, for example, interactingwith one or more of the zone players in the system. As one example, thestate information could be maintained on one or more zone players ineach zone, and the controller could obtain the state information from azone player from each respective zone. As another example, there couldbe one specified zone player in the system that maintains stateinformation for every zone. In this example, the controller could obtainthe state information from the specified zone player. As yet anotherexample, the controller itself could maintain the state information. Inthis scenario, the controller could communicate with one or more of thezone players in the system to determine the respective zone's state, andstore information regarding the state at the controller.

The controller may identify the state information at different times. Inone example, the controller may identify the state information inresponse to accepting the input to display the list of zones, describedabove with respect to block 1220 (e.g., after receiving the input, thecontroller could request state information from the zone(s)). In anotherexample, the controller may identify state information by periodicallyrequesting the state information from the zone(s) in the system. As yetanother example, the controller may periodically receive the stateinformation from the zone(s) without having to request the information.The state information may be part of the state variable described above,or may be sent by the zone(s) to the controller separately.

As noted above, it should be understood that although block 1230 isillustrated as occurring subsequent to block 1220, block 1230 may alsobe performed in parallel with block 1220, and/or block 1230 may beperformed prior to block 1220.

At block 1240, the controller displays, via the user interface, the listof the zones ordered at least according to one or more states associatedwith each respective zone of the plurality of zones. An example of theordered list of zones is shown in FIG. 10 . As shown in FIG. 10 , thelist of zones is ordered according to whether the zone has an itemqueued for playback in the zone's playback queue. As indicated in FIG.10 , the “Bedroom” and “Living Room+Patio” zones have multimedia itemsin their respective playback queues, while the “TV Room” zone does nothave any multimedia items in its playback queue. Thus, the “Bedroom” and“Living Room+Patio” zones are ordered before the “TV Room” zone.

FIG. 13 depicts a user interface screen 1300 that is similar to FIG. 11. However, in FIG. 13 , the list of zones is ordered according toadditional state information than the example depicted in FIG. 11 . Inparticular, in FIG. 13 , the zones 1310-1330 are ordered according to(1) whether the zone is currently playing a multimedia item in itsqueue, and (2) whether there are any multimedia items in the respectivezone's queue. As shown by the icon 1340 in FIG. 13 , the “LivingRoom+Patio” zone 1310 is currently playing “Wanna be Startin' Somethin”by Michael Jackson. The “Bedroom” zone 1320 has the song “Heaven for theSinner” queued for playback, but the song is not playing. The “TV Room”1330 zone has no items queued for playback. As such, the controller hasordered the “Living Room+Patio” 1310 zone first, the “Bedroom” zone 1320second, and the “TV Room” 1330 third.

It should be understood that the states used to order the lists depictedin FIGS. 11 and 13 are merely exemplary, and that other stateinformation could be used instead of or in addition to the informationdiscussed with respect to FIGS. 11 and 13 . In addition, the list ofzones could be ordered according to other factors in addition to orinstead of using the state information. For example the zones could beordered solely according to zone name. In another embodiment, the listcould be ordered according to (1) whether zones are playing backcontent, and (2) zone name. As yet another example, the list could beordered according to the state information as well as informationpertaining to the controller. For example, the list could be orderedaccording to (1) whether zones are playing back content, (2) whetherthere is anything queued for playback in the zone, and (3) the last timethe controller controlled the zone. In one embodiment, the user couldinstruct the controller which information to use when ordering the listof zones.

IX. Conclusion

The descriptions above disclose various example systems, methods,apparatus, and articles of manufacture including, among othercomponents, firmware and/or software executed on hardware. However, suchexamples are merely illustrative and should not be considered aslimiting. For example, it is contemplated that any or all of thesefirmware, hardware, and/or software components can be embodiedexclusively in hardware, exclusively in software, exclusively infirmware, or in any combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware.Accordingly, while the following describes example systems, methods,apparatus, and/or articles of manufacture, the examples provided are notthe only way(s) to implement such systems, methods, apparatus, and/orarticles of manufacture.

Additionally, references herein to “embodiment” means that a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with theembodiment can be included in at least one example embodiment of theinvention. The appearances of this phrase in various places in thespecification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment,nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of otherembodiments. As such, the embodiments described herein, explicitly andimplicitly understood by one skilled in the art, can be combined withother embodiments.

The specification is presented largely in terms of illustrativeenvironments, systems, procedures, steps, logic blocks, processing, andother symbolic representations that directly or indirectly resemble theoperations of data processing devices coupled to networks. These processdescriptions and representations are typically used by those skilled inthe art to most effectively convey the substance of their work to othersskilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth to provide athorough understanding of the present disclosure. However, it isunderstood to those skilled in the art that certain embodiments of thepresent disclosure can be practiced without certain, specific details.In other instances, well known methods, procedures, components, andcircuitry have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarilyobscuring aspects of the embodiments. Accordingly, the scope of thepresent disclosure is defined by the appended claims rather than theforgoing description of embodiments.

When any of the appended claims are read to cover a purely softwareand/or firmware implementation, at least one of the elements in at leastone example is hereby expressly defined to include a tangible mediumsuch as a memory, DVD, CD, Blu-ray, and so on, storing the softwareand/or firmware.

1. A control device comprising: at least one processor; at least onenon-transitory computer-readable medium comprising program instructionsthat are executable by the at least one processor such that the controldevice is configured to: display, via a user interface, a list of one ormore groups of playback devices and corresponding state informationassociated with each group of playback devices, wherein the listcomprises selectable graphical representations corresponding to eachgroup of playback devices; based on a selection of a particularselectable graphical representation from the list, communicate aninstruction to a remote system to change a state of a particular groupcorresponding to the particular selectable graphical representation; andafter receiving an indication from the remote system that the particulargroup is in a particular state, update the user interface to display anindication of the particular state in association with the particularselectable graphical representation corresponding to the particulargroup.
 2. The control device of claim 1, wherein the one or more groupsof playback devices communicate state information to the remote system.3. The control device of claim 1, wherein the particular state comprisesthat the particular group is currently playing media content.
 4. Thecontrol device of claim 3, wherein the indication of the particularstate comprises an icon indicating that the particular group iscurrently playing media content.
 5. The control device of claim 3,wherein the indication of the particular state comprises an indicationof the media content being played back by the particular group.
 6. Thecontrol device of claim 1, wherein the particular state comprises thatthe particular group has media content queued for playback.
 7. Thecontrol device of claim 6, wherein the indication of the particularstate comprises an indication of the media content queued for playbackby the particular group.
 8. The control device of claim 1, whereinfacilitating the change in the state of the respective particular groupcomprises: displaying a playback control option on the user interface;and in response to receiving an input via the playback control option,causing the respective particular group to modify media contentplayback.
 9. The control device of claim 8, wherein: causing therespective particular group to modify media content playback comprisescausing the respective particular group to start media content playback.10. The control device of claim 8, wherein: the particular groupcomprises at least two playback devices; and causing the respectiveparticular group to start media content playback comprises causing theat least two playback devices to start media content playback insynchrony.
 11. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having storedthereon instructions executable by one or more processors to cause acontrol device to perform functions comprising: displaying, via a userinterface, a list of one or more groups of playback devices andcorresponding state information associated with each group of playbackdevices, wherein the list comprises selectable graphical representationscorresponding to each group of playback devices; based on a selection ofa particular selectable graphical representation from the list,communicate an instruction to a remote system to change in a state of aparticular group corresponding to the particular selectable graphicalrepresentation; and after receiving an indication from the remote systemthat the particular group is in a particular state, update the userinterface to displaying an indication of the particular state inassociation with the particular selectable graphical representationcorresponding to the particular group.
 12. The control device of claim1, wherein the one or more groups of playback devices communicate stateinformation to the remote system.
 13. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the particular statecomprises that the particular group is currently playing media content.14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein theindication of the particular state comprises an icon indicating that theparticular group is currently playing media content
 15. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein theindication of the particular state comprises an indication of the mediacontent being played back by the particular group.
 16. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein theparticular state comprises that the particular group has media contentqueued for playback.
 17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium ofclaim 16, wherein the indication of the particular state comprises anindication of the media content queued for playback by the particulargroup.
 18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11,wherein facilitating the change in the state of the respectiveparticular group comprises: displaying a playback control option on theuser interface; and in response to receiving an input via the playbackcontrol option, causing the respective particular group to modify mediacontent playback.
 19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium ofclaim 18, wherein: causing the respective particular group to modifymedia content playback comprises causing the respective particular groupto start media content playback.
 20. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein: the particular groupcomprises at least two playback devices; and causing the respectiveparticular group to start media content playback comprises causing theat least two playback devices to start media content playback insynchrony.